Professionals are trained to do this work without destroying other parts. Only the upper ball joints are riveted in. Due to design tolerances, you will need to have the truck aligned after replacing the upper ball joints. No respected mechanic is going to align it without inspecting your work since he is staking his reputation on the outcome, and he knows he will be blamed for any problems that arise later. You are better off letting him replace the ball joints. Each upper one takes about a half hour. The lower ones require a special ball joint press and take from one to one and a half hours each.

The mechanic will also perform a complete inspection before aligning the truck. Any worn parts that prevent holding the wheel and tire in proper position will result in tire wear and handling problems. He knows that aligning a truck with worn parts is a waste of your money.